"Can't believe we're hanging out. Of all the people in the city to share air with, never figured on you two."
 
The music from the live session near the bar at the Warf Rat's Rose was playing a merry tune that made the listener want to do a jig. Okay; maybe just try to do a jig. People were less coordinated when drunk and it seemed unlikely that many patrons could pull it off. Still a few people made the effort that provided entertainment for everyone else in the crowded pub. Jason looked on as a would be river dancer fall over onto a table and knocked over three half filled beer glasses.
Two of the guys sitting at the table roughly dragged him off and tossed him into a corner.
 
"Never figured on working with you nether," continued Joey.
 
"Not like we had a choice there Joey."
 
"Why the fuck did you invite us to this hole anyway?"
 
"I was trying to say thanks for helping me."
 
"You wanna pay me back mothafucka you don't do it by buying me beer you do it by owing me a favor."
 
"Boys, we all need to settle down. After all, it was nice of them to invite us," interrupted Mariah putting a restraining hand on Joey's arm.
 
It had been a mistake. Jason had seen it coming. Siobhan had suggested that they invite Joey and Mariah to the pub for drinks. She had mentioned the idea to Mariah before telling Jason which meant that they couldn't back out without being rude. Siobhan thought it would make them better partners in crime.
 
Joey seemed to relax at Mariah's touch and took a pull at his beer. Mariah for her part seemed pretty interested in Jason. He had, after all, saved both of them from being killed by the gigantic Russian. It hadent hurt that he had removed his shirt and brawled with the Goliath reincarnate either. Siobhan had gotten a detailed account of the fight from her afterwards and a lot of her descriptions were centered on Jason's muscular arms, stomach and chest.
 
Of the few Italians and Irish that had been forced to work together by their respective bosses; Mariah and Siobhan had gotten along the best. It was, in everyone's opinion, because they were both women who could shrink a man down and swallow him alive. Jason considered having them together a dangerous combination. They might goad each other into devouring people tonight. Mariah seemed interested in him and Siobhan seemed to want his friendship so maybe he was safe but still it would be unwise to let his guard down. Compound that with Joey who seemed fit to be tied.
 
It was the tiny old flickering TV set in the corner that saved the night. Through the beer stained, blurry screen came the distorted highlights of a hockey game that had been played recently.
 
"Joey, did you happen to catch the hockey game last night?" asked Jason.
 
"Oh fuck! Don't get me started! Did you see that bogus call in the third quarter? Where the fuck did they get that fucking referee from? A mental institute?"
 
It figured, thought Siobhan. Rival mobsters who would punch each other's guts out if their bosses didn't say otherwise could still manage to agree on something as basic as sports. How typical. 
 
Mariah for her part looked willing to oblige Siobhan in conversation. They could say pretty much whatever they wanted without fear of being overheard due to the din from a thousand customers calling for more drinks, singing along to "Whiskey in a Jar", currently being played by the band. The guys were ignoring them. She caught a snippet of Joey's sentence over the singing.
 
"...Lost sight of the puck so what does he do? He blows the whistle on them right as they score, that's what!"
 
Joey seemed to be going strong and Jason was nodding his head in grim agreement. Clearly, their obstreperous behavior was something of the past. They were focused on the very serious topic of professional sports. Why not get to know Mariah better?
 
"Mariah, how long have you had the talent?" Their mutual abilities seemed the proper base to start a conversation.
 
Mariah smiled, sipped some of her drink and leaned over to Siobhan.
 
"Since I was a girl. I must have been about sixteen. I was in love with this one boy in my class. He was so pretty. One day I got him alone and we kissed. The next thing I knew he was a few inches tall."
 
"So you started swallowing people then," said Siobhan nodding.
 
"No actually. you must remember that I was in love with him. I didn't know what to do so I kept him in a box for almost a year. The poor thing never really got used to it. One day I invited a friend over to my house to play. I went to get something for us to drink and when I got back to my room, she was gone and so was the poor boy I kept in a box. My friend must have found him and left before I could get back. She never admitted to taking him. I don’t know what she did to him either. She never said. It ruined our friendship."
 
Mariah paused and sipped some beer.
 
"Came back to the other end of the ice and scored! How bad is that?!" Joey put the question to Jason who responded with equal vim. 
 
Siobhan returned he attention to Mariah.
 
"I didn't eat anyone until two years later. It was my boyfriend. We were kissing and he shrunk. I was able to hold onto him for about two hours before I finely gave in. Swallowed him whole. He wiggled around in my belly for about three minuets. I was hooked by then. I invited a guy over and did my best to shrink him. It worked and for a while there I was shrinking people every night. It wasn't long before my dad figured out my secret. Being a mafia underboss he immediately realized my value to the organization. That's what I do for them now."
 
"It sounds like a familiar story," said Siobhan. "The first guy I ate was someone I kissed too. From then on I devoured a ton of guys. Sometimes they were people I had a crush on or was friends with or sometimes complete strangers. Eventually I got a job working for Harvey Donovan and now I eat criminals. You don't feel guilty after eating a criminal like you do with normal people."
 
Mariah nodded knowingly and then with a mischievous smile leaned in and asked, "So how many of your boyfriends did you eat?"
 
"Well I tried to avoid eating people I really cared about," said Siobhan defensively and a little too sharp to believe.
 
"Ah come on. How many?"
 
Siobhan nodded. Reluctantly she raised a hand and held up three fingers, embarrassed.
 
Mariah giggled and Siobhan let out a little laugh despite herself.
 
"You must have a lot of self-control to limit yourself like that."
 
Siobhan's eyes wandered the room. 
 
"I don't know if it's so much will power as it is caution. I don’t let myself get too attached to anyone anymore."
 
"That must be hard," Mariah sounded surprised.
 
"Not as hard as dealing with the aftermath of knowing you just swallowed your boyfriend. What about you? How many did you eat?"
Mariah smiled. "Five." She tossed her hair, grinned. "I enjoyed every one of them. Too bad they had to die. Couldn't resist." The boys were still talking about sports. They had abandoned hockey for the time being and moved on to baseball. 
Mariah turned back to Siobhan. "Did you ever eat anybody who was a willing victim?"
 
The Irish girl frowned. "There was a guy I knew recently who would have been willing. He wanted to go steady with me and he even knew how it would probably end. Made no secret that he was turned on by what I did. He wanted to go the same way. I wish I had gotten the chance. The Russians killed him. It was Brendan. He was such a cutie."
 
Mariah hoped that Siobhan had missed her flicker of nervousness. It was she who had eaten Brendan. "Mmm, he sounds like he would have been delicious. I love eating willing victims. They are so much fun to play with."

"Why? What do you do?" "Play with them. Let them explore their new home on the outside before they go inside. Sometimes they'll even jump into your mouth."

"You've gotten them to jump into your mouth!?" Siobhan was genuinely shocked that someone would willingly die in her belly.

"Shhh! Not so loud," whispered Mariah and leaned in closer."Why don't we try it? Let's see if you can find someone in here who wants to get eaten."

"How?""Come with me," she smiled. The pair got up, Mariah lightly but deliberately brushing her bottom on Jason's arm as she squeezed out between her seat and Jason's chair. She smiled at the two men and told them that she and Siobhan were off on a girl outing and would find them in an hour or two. "Don't go anywhere," she added. "We'll meet you back here." 

Together the two women left the pub."You want to eat Jason don’t you?" accused Siobhan as soo as they were outside.

"Hey, he's cute. Besides, he couldn't keep his eyes off me all night."

"He's my friend and I want to keep him. He is not a snack. Jason's off limits."

"Okay, okay, fine. Just relax. We're out to have fun together remember? Come on, I know a great place to pick up guys."